Thermal Energy Partners, LLC
9442 Capital of Texas Highway , North Arboretum Plaza One, Suite 500 , Austin, Texas, United States

Thermal Energy Partners (TEP) is a Texas-based Geothermal Energy company that provides renewable, resilient, base load, zero carbon energy.      TEP develops sustainable geothermal energy projects in the USA and around the world.  TEP provides economical, renewable, base-load electricity without the emission of carbon dioxide. Our approach leverages the knowledge assembled from over 150 years of capital investment by the petroleum industry in investigating and defining the characteristics of the subsurface environment.  We apply this huge reservoir of information to understand and identify those regions where permeable sedimentary layers exist at depth. This method allows us to develop and extract useful heat from these reservoirs using the latest technology in thermal to electrical energy conversion processes. 

A VISIONARY, DISCIPLINED APPROACH 

   Thermal Energy Partners believes that renewable, sustainable, locally produced power must be able to compete economically with the existing national and international fossil fuel industry, without artificial support of the costs of production.  Our cooperation with the petroleum industry and other leading exploration firms has allowed us to develop a vast specialized knowledge-base. Our proprietary data set allows us to minimize exploration risk and maximize return on investment.     We have the vision to find new and emerging geothermal energy opportunities in the US, and around the world, with the discipline and technical experience to develop them safely, efficiently and profitably. 

DEEP EXPERTISE   

 Our strategy is built on our foundation of expertise. We are a focused team of intelligent, proven specialists, who are experts in deploying the most advanced technology in areas with substantial potential. Where others see only risk, we have the expertise to carefully see the potential opportunity, the agility to act quickly, the experience to see the hurdles that must be overcome and the ability to capitalize on opportunities that others miss.

By analyzing large amounts of information – (both structured and unstructured), very quickly, TEP provides a streamlined development approach to geothermal projects with a more accurate course of action.

Prior to TEPs approach, data has been scattered across silos (in and out) of the industry. Projects often deal with ineffective coordination of information and lack of a clear business case for deployment. TEPs Big Data approach brings more information together to solve complex problems with greater speed & accuracy. 

• Enhanced Insight & Process Automation. From resource assessment, to well field development, to investment decision to electricity production, were leveraging more accurate forms of information processing that enable enhanced insight, decision-making, and process automation. The result better business decisions for the development of geothermal resources to deliver more reliable and stable power.

• Accuracy Matters. Our Big-Data analytics has been applied to the traditional "hot-spot" geothermal approach resulting in greater precision to produce baseload renewable electricity. When TEPs data-driven approach is applied to deep sedimentary basins, it has resulted in an ever-expanding map of the earths interior fluid that is much more widely available than previously thought, thus bringing the possibility of geothermal electricity to more locations around the world with lower risk and greater accuracy.

GEOTHERMAL METHODS 

   In its simplest form, geothermal energy is the process by which the energy used to drive turbines is produced by heat from the earth, rather than through burning of fossil fuels. No combustion takes place in this process and there is no cost for “fuel” used to drive the turbines, other than the expenditures necessary to tap the heat source.  The result is power without the production of combustion-related carbon dioxide at a lower cost than other forms of electricity.     Of all the types of renewable energy, geothermal comes with a small footprint, available 24x7 and produces zero emissions.     There are several different types of geothermal energy approaches today. For example:

• Traditional or Conventional Hydrothermal: have common ingredients of water and heat. These geothermal reservoirs of steam or hot water occur naturally where magma comes close enough to the surface to heat groundwater trapped in fractured or porous rocks, or where water circulates at great depth along faults. Dry steam (vapor) reservoirs and hot water (liquid) reservoirs are used to generate electricity.

• Sedimentary & Geopressured: Geopressured gas has been developed to produce geothermal electricity and these resources are found in Sedimentary & Geopressured Systems. This approach is described as the utilization of kinetic energy, hydrothermal energy, and energy produced from the associated gas resulting from permeable layers at depths (typically between 2-5 km).

• Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): or hot dry rock systems are located where hot masses of low permeability rocks are found at drillable depths.

Geothermal Power 

 At Thermal Energy Partners we have the vision to find new and emerging geothermal energy opportunities and the discipline to develop them safely, and profitably.      TEPs production plan is for this renewable baseload resource to be much more available to meet the growth in demand for energy. 50 GWe or more of coal-fired capacity will need to be retired in the next 15 to 25 years within the U.S. alone due to environmental concerns and during this same period, 40 GWe or more of nuclear capacity will not surpass relicensing procedures and as a result be decommissioned.      Geothermal energy provides a robust, long-lasting option with attributes that would complement other important contributions from clean coal, nuclear, solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass. The US is already the leading producer of geothermal based electricity around the world with about 3,500MW of capacity.     In fact, many attributes of geothermal energy, namely its widespread distribution, base-load dispatchability without storage, small footprint, and zero emissions, are desirable for reaching a sustainable energy future. Expanding the energy supply portfolio to include more indigenous and renewable resources is a sound approach that will increase energy security in a manner that strengthens a countrys economy.     Geothermal energy represents a large, indigenous resource that can provide base-load electric power and heat at a level that can have a major economic impact while incurring minimal environmental issues.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT  

• Project initiation and structuring

• Securing License and concession

• Negotiating land rights

• Coordinating ESIA (Environmental Social Impact Assessment)

• Seek and negotiate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)

• Initial power plant design

• Negotiate and secure EPC Contract (Engineering Procurement Construction)

• Coordinate with local governments and regulators

• Chose and negotiate with O & M suppliers